Courtesy of The Luminary
In high school, Karl Lewis purchased new shoes every month—which later helped earned him a “best-dressed” superlative. Following graduation, he had stints at different shoe stores before launching his own streetwear and sneaker brand, Lace Gods.
As the third installment of artist Aaron Fowler’s N2EXISTENCE project with The Luminary and the STLMade movement, Lewis’ Lace Gods has transformed N2EXISTENCE’s shop (2834 Cherokee) into a sneaker museum with a basketball and space theme and artwork from Fowler. The shop is currently open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. every day until February 22.
The N2EXISTENCE storefront, which aims to uplift the dreams of artist Fowler’s family, friends, and creator community, will rotate with new inhabitants. Currently, Lace Gods uses the shop to sell its shoes on consignment (usually brands like Nikes, Jordans, and Yeezys) and offer cleanings. At a pop-up last week, artist Brock Seals painted customers’ shoes, including artwork in honor of war-torn Ethiopia onto a pair of Nike Air Force 1s for one visitor.
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Courtesy of The Luminary and Lace Gods
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Courtesy of The Luminary and Lace Gods
“The sneaker community is not as big as it can be in St. Louis,” Lewis says. “I feel like more [shoe] stores can pop up and be able to sustain this; we can all work together to make the community bigger.”
Next, Lace Gods and other creators who have contributed to the Cherokee storefront will move into The Luminary (2701 Cherokee) building as part of Fowler’s solo exhibition, N2EXISTENCE GENESIS, running March 6 through May 1.
